Family and friends of the defendants cried and shook their heads as Giancarlo J. Guevara-Cabezas, 21, and Carlos J. Guevara-Cabezas, 26, were each sentenced today for the July 12, 2011 crash on Kennedy Boulevard that left one pedestrian dead and another wounded.

Before Hudson County Superior Court Judge Joseph Isabella imposed the sentence, both sides asked that he abide by the terms of the plea deal.

Isabella said that the two defendants were “not bad kids,” calling the whole situation “every parent’s nightmare.”

"These are circumstances that didn't have to happen," said Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Karen Darish.

Carlos’ defense attorney, Daniel Welsh, said his client was remorseful for what had happened, adding that his client would seek entry into the Intensive Supervision Program, which permits offenders to work their way back into the community under intensive supervision.

Before being sentenced, Giancarlo told the judge he was “very sorry for what happened.”

“He’s going to have to live with what he did,” said his attorney Jeffrey Garrigan.

Multiple friends and family members in attendance cried as each of the men were sentenced. Some left the courtroom sobbing after the sentence was imposed.

Authorities say that just before 11 p.m. on July 12, the two brothers were racing south on Kennedy Boulevard at speeds of about 60 miles per hour, when Giancarlo, who was 19 at the time, tried to pass his brother.

One of the pedestrians, Dipakkumar Ashokbhai Patel, was struck with such force that his body was thrown into the air and slammed into a building with such force his body broke a cast-iron drain pipe on the wall. Patel then dropped onto the spikes of a wrought-iron fence and was left hanging upside-down. He later died of his injuries. The other pedestrian suffered a broken leg.

Originally charged with vehicular homicide, the two brothers accepted a plea deal on charges of third degree aggravated assault and a fourth degree charge of assault by a motor vehicle.

Under the five-year sentence, the two brothers have no additional barriers before becoming eligible for parole.